There has been significant change occurring on the northeast corner of North Collins Street and Skyline Drive. Since 2001, this corner has been home to Chick Fil A restaurant, and in 2015 the process began to redevelop the site with a larger restaurant building, parking area, and more room for drive-through stacking.
This site is located within an overlay district known as the Entertainment District Overlay. The intent of this overlay is “to create identifiable and exciting character for the 2,800-acre entertainment area in central Arlington,” according to the Unified Development Code (UDC). The location of the building itself is one of the more noticeable changes of the redevelopment. The building has been pulled to the front corner of the lot, and has no parking or drive-through lane between the building and the street.
The new building features a hard corner element identified by a raised parapet and a covered, outdoor seating area. There is another large seating area to the north of the new restaurant that features both covered and uncovered seating. The drive-through lane has been moved behind the building and has increased in size to better accommodate their customer base. The new drive-through lane has enhanced landscaping used to screen it from Skyline drive as well as the parking lot. This enhanced style of landscaping is prevalent throughout the rest of the site as well.
This project is a great example of how the Unified Development Code’s development guidelines are enhancing the pedestrian experience within Arlington’s Entertainment Area.